Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Today was our first organized tour of this trip and it was the hottest day so far.
We started with a room service breakfast. Then we had to meet the tour on the pier.
The HAL tour: Corner Brook Highlights
About the Excursion: This part of the world has been visited by many people, beginning with the Maritime Archaic Peoples 3,500 years ago. Since then, Inuit, Beothucks and European visitors have come and gone. Some have stayed, too.
Jacques Cartier was the first European to sail along what is now the Eastern Coast of Canada in 1534 on his first voyage to the New World. Since that time, Portuguese, Basques, and Captain James Cook have frequented this area. Today, Corner Brook is a modern, progressive city with a population of approximately 19,000 and is nestled among scenic hills 30 miles from the Gulf of St Lawrence.
Head out to the city’s eastern edge to see some highlights — Marble Mountain, the Heritage Tree and the Old Man in the Mountain.
Before returning to the ship, you’ll also drive through Corner Brook to Captain Cook’s Monument .
Notes: Transportation for this excursion is via school bus; scooters, walkers or wheelchairs cannot be accommodated on the transportation.
The transportation was a very bouncy school bus with a mic that did not work well. In addition, the guide spoke a mile a minute so we only caught a few words at a time. But he did provide a lot of handouts to review.
Our first stop was the Captain Cook Monument park area at Crow Hill.
Then we stopped at another park so we could use the public restrooms. Lots of families enjoying the area.
Our third stop was the Old Man in the Mountain. A number of people couldn’t find the face. Can you?
The next stop was the Railway Society of Newfoundland Historic Train Site.
Our last stop was the Marble Mountain ski lift area and the Heritage Tree.
The tour was okay. It was only about 3.5 hours long. But, I think we would have just been better off walking around Corner Brook or taking the long tour to Gros Morne National Park.
We took the free shuttle back to Corner Brook to walk around and look at the shops. The heat started getting to me, and I started getting a headache probably from having no caffeine or being dehydrated or both.
Got back to the room and took a nap while Chuck went to the Sea View area.
After the nap, I was feeling much better which was good because we had another Pinnacle Grill dinner tonight. Chuck had the filet mignon again and I had a lobster tail. Another great dinner.
We played some slots. Then I decided to go up to the sports deck to see if I could see the Perseid Meteor shower. It was advertised in the daily planner. The wind was so fierce it almost knocked me over.
I had on my jacket, stocking cap, and gloves. So different from today when I thought I was going to melt in the heat.
I made it to the very front of the deck and was able to get into a spot that cut the wind somewhat. There were several other people trying to view the meteor shower too. I made it to 11:00 and only saw stars and some planes. No meteors.
Came back to the room and set the clocks back an hour and a half.
Tomorrow: Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec
Travel Trivia
The area was surveyed by Captain James Cook in 1767. The Captain James Cook Historic Site stands on Crow Hill overlooking the city.
The city is the main office for the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nations government.
Corner Brook was designated the Forest Capital of Canada in 2002
In 1986, The Corner Brook Royals, their hockey team, won the national championship and took home the Allan Cup.
December and January get nearly 6.5 feet of snow on average.